Pope Francis prepared to enter peacemaking talks today. The main concern is peace between Israel and Palestine. Muslim, Christian and Jewish religious leaders will be meeting together today. They have been unable to sustain peace in the area since the signing of the Oslo Accords 20 years ago.
The 90 year old Israeli President, Shimon Peres's term will be ending in July. He hopes to bring agreements of peace between the two areas before the end of his term. However, Mr. Peres currently has very limited power. Some say the participation of Mr. Peres is a sign that there are few options remaining to start peace talks once again. In addition, many Palestinians don't think he will help the situation since he failed to help give Palestine their own state, which was promised in the Oslo Accords.Not to mention, the creation of Jewish settlements in Palestinian territory during the beginning of his term. Few think he will be alive to see the formation of a Palestinian state.
Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu has been urging the U.S and other western states to reject the formation of a Palestinian government . In addition, he has ordered construction of 1,500 of new housing units on lands that have already been claimed by Palestinians. This has already increased the tension. It will be interesting to see if peace talks will start again.
I find this article interesting because I will be traveling with North Central's Breakaway to Israel and Palestine this August!! I am very excited!
-Jackie Bland
http://online.wsj.com/articles/popes-mideast-effort-faces-political-static-1402082987
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